A dynamic place with the goal of connecting those who teach Writing with ideas and techniques to integrate Library related tools, collections and services into your classes to improve student's library and information literacy skills.

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RefWorks has introduced a new, user-friendly interface called RefWorks 2.0. Current RefWorks account holders have the option to move to the new interface now. RefWorks 2.0 will become the only interface by the start of fall semester.

RefShare

In addition to a new interface, account holders will now be able to easily share citation data with internal and external folks via RefShare.

As mobile devices have become the primary means of Internet access for more and more of our users, we have been busy designing a robust version of our Web site optimized for the small screens of smartphones. On-the-go users can now:

* Search for books, videos, maps, and music, and more using the library catalog.
* Find magazine and journal articles using library databases.
* E-mail citations of the resources you find.
* Browse for article databases that have mobile interfaces.
* Check library building and collection hours.
* Contact librarians by e-mail or phone.
* Look up when your checked out items are due.

The first time you browse to www.lib.umn.edu from your handheld device, you will be given the option to automatically be sent to the mobile site for all future visits. Those without Internet-enabled phones can view the mobile site from any computer at www.lib.umn.edu/mobile/.

Do you have a student who need extra help with research? Do you have any students who complain they can't find any sources? Do some of your students bibliographies not meet your expectations? Please talk to your students about the Peer Research Consultants (PRC) program. The program's goal is to support FYW students as they do library research and find sources to use in their writing. Your students can sit down one-on-one and get personalized research help on their topics. The PRCs build on skills learned in the Unravel the Library workshops.

New for spring:

*Evening drop-in hours available Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays with daily drop-in hours Monday-Friday in Wilson Library, Walter Library, and Appleby Hall.
*Students can get a certificate to show they have worked with the PRCs. This can be useful for giving points or extra credit.
*Like last semester, the PRCs are available for class visits and/or we can send you fliers for class distribution.

How many students were seen in fall?

*The PRCs met with over 60 students in fall semester-this exceeded our estimates for this new program.
*Over 60% of students were in WRIT 1301 and 3% from WRIT 1201
*In general, students met with PRCs for over 30 minutes for in-depth guidance

What did students have to say about the PRCs?
Here are some quotes from students this fall:

*"She was very helpful when I was looking for specific information on the library website. She explained the website very well and gave excellent tips!"
*"He was very helpful in helping me figure out what I wanted to write my paper on and where I could find the sources. Afterwards I was able to understand my paper."
*"Approachable advising that assisted me with furthering my research goals; very useful."

How do students find out about the PRCs?

*From you--their class instructors. Over 50% of the students heard about the program from FYW instructors.

The Art in the Libraries 2010 exhibition Tangible Digital Matter celebrates digital media in the work of undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, and staff from the Department of Art at the University of Minnesota. All of the work in some way is shaped, affected, manipulated or informed by digital technology. Digital prints, ink jet and laser pieces, mixed media works, and installations integrate simple and complex digital facets with fabric, ceramics, photography, drawing, painting, and sculpture.

The theme of the exhibit is particularly timely for the University Libraries. As books and information find their way more and more in digital form, researchers are, like artists, inventing and journeying through new paths of research praxis. Not only is the path of research and discovery new, but the end products are, also, finding new form and born digital. Tangible Digital Matter is a reflective and metaphoric show for the Libraries, inviting researchers to contemplate the visual manifestations of digital information as it integrates traditional and technologically formed media.

Explore the basement, first and fourth floors of Wilson Library to find the artworks on exhibit.

Beginning Spring Semester 2010, walk-in government information-related research help will be provided at the main first floor reference desk in Wilson Library, rather than from the present service desk in the basement of Wilson Library. This will increase the number of hours government information help is available, and make it easier for faculty and students to get Library help, as more librarians and Libraries staff will be trained in government information research.

This is in keeping with other ways the Libraries is working to enhance access to government information. Recently the Libraries provided 85,000 government documents to Google for digitization. Access to these documents is being made available through the Google Book Search and eventually through the Hathi Trust (http://www.hathitrust.org/).

If you have any comments or questions, please contact Kirsten Clark, Government Information and Regional Depository Librarian (clark881@umn.edu / 612-626-7520). We are also happy to meet with individual faculty and staff, or to speak at departmental meetings about this change in service.

"Three library associations have asked the Justice Department to oversee Google's plans to create a massive digital library to prevent an excessively high price for institutional subscriptions, the groups said on Thursday.

The American Library Association, the Association of College and Research Libraries and the Association of Research Libraries said that there was unlikely to be an effective competitor to Google's massive project in the near term.

It asked the government to urge the court to use its oversight authority to prevent abusive pricing of the online book project."

"One of the world's rarest maps -- a massive print from 1602 showing the world with China as its center -- will soon be on permanent display at the University of Minnesota.

The James Ford Bell Trust announced this week that it has acquired the "Impossible Black Tulip," the first map in Chinese to show the Americas, from a London books and maps dealer for $1 million. Only six copies of the map remain and several are in poor condition."

It is 12 feet by 5 feet. I think I see a writing assignment in here somewhere...

RefWorks: Basics
Learn the basics of using RefWorks, the Web-based citation manager that is available to all U of M Faculty, students and staff. Adding references to RefWorks will be covered, as well as exporting them to Word, and selecting a style (MLA, APA, etc) for your bibliography. See http://www.lib.umn.edu/refworks/ for more details about RefWorks.
Mon, 10/19/2009 - 2:00pm - 3:15pm
Location: Magrath Library Instruction Room (Room 81)

Free Music, Images and More: An Introduction to Creative Commons
This workshop will give you an introduction to the copyright alternative, Creative Commons. During the time we will discuss the various licenses, how you can use Creative Commons materials and why you may want to license your own work! We will also look at come CC resources to locate and integrate CC media into your lectures, presentations, podcasts, and papers.
Tue, 10/20/2009 - 1:00pm - 2:00pm
Location: Magrath Library Instruction Room (Room 81)

Grant Funding - Search Tools and Resources
Learn how to use IRIS, SPIN, and Community of Science and the Foundation Directory to search for grant opportunities. Setting up e-mail updates on specific subjects will also be covered, as well as how to find internal U of M funding sources. Resources for the course are listed on the Web site of the Office of the VP for Research, http://www.collaborate.umn.edu/explore/searching.html
Tue, 10/20/2009 - 3:00pm - 4:15pm
Location: 310 Walter Library

Formatting Your Dissertation or Thesis in *Word 2007*
Focus on your research instead of your formatting! In this workshop, you'll learn how to use Microsoft Word features effectively and efficiently. We'll cover inserting images and charts, getting your page numbers in the right place, generating tables of contents and figures; and more. Please note that this workshop covers the basic formatting you'll need to comply with Graduate School guidelines. Participants should have basic experience using MS Word. Note this version of the workshop specifically uses Office 2007; an instruction manual is available for Word 2003. We will be using a template and not be working with individual dissertations. Class materials can be found on the Moodle page, at: https://moodle.umn.edu/course/view.php?id=5102
Tue, 10/27/2009 - 10:00am - 12:00pm
Location: Magrath Library Instruction Room (Room 81)

Extreme Googling: Collaboration Tools
Google offers much more than a search engine. We will introduce to you free, online tools from Google to help you work collaboratively, stay current, get organized and be more productive in your personal and professional online lives. Tools covered will include: Google Docs, iGoogle, Google Notebook, Google Reader, Google Groups, Google Calendar, and Google Sites. Note: Searching Google will NOT be covered in this class. If you are interested in search tips, please attend Extreme Googling: Tips and Tricks for Expert Searching or Google IS a Research Tool.
Mon, 11/02/2009 - 2:00pm
Location: Magrath Library Instruction Room (Room 81)

Grant Funding for Graduate Students
Find out more about funding opportunities available to graduate students. Learn how to use IRIS, SPIN, and Community of Science and the Foundation Directory to search for grant opportunities. Setting up e-mail updates on specific subjects will also be covered, as well as how to find internal U of M funding sources. Resources for the course are listed on the Web site of the Office of the VP for Research, http://www.collaborate.umn.edu/explore/searching.html.
Wed, 11/04/2009 - 3:00pm - 4:15pm
Location: 310 Walter Library

Google for Researchers
With Google, you already search the web, share photos/movies/music, map directions and discover new things...but there are some tools you may have missed. This web search engine is on a mission to "organize the world's information and make it universally accessible." So let's explore the new tools and technology that pair Google-efficient tools with library-quality results to weave together a rich information web that goes beyond just the World Wide Web. We'll look at tools such as, Google Docs, RSS Reader, Google Scholar, and iGoogle Research Gadgets that will help you access, evaluate, and share information in an easy collaborative environment.
Wed, 11/11/2009 - 2:30pm - 3:30pm
Location: 310 Walter Library

We are pleased to announce the availability of the Peer Research Consultants. Please encourage your students to drop in for one-on-one help with their research. Students can get help narrowing a topic, finding articles and books, selecting academic sources, evaluating and more. The PRCs are familiar with the Unravel workshops and will help build on the skills learned in these sessions. The PRCs are focused on teaching students as they help them with their research questions.

For Fall 2009, during our pilot phase, we are concentrating on supporting First Year Writing (all of the PRCs have completed WRIT 1301 with a grade of B or higher), SEAM (Student Excellence in Academics and Multiculturalism) and as part of MCAE's Academic Resources.

If you are interested in print flyers, please let us know (grayjl@umn.edu or katep@umn.edu) and we will send enough for your class through campus mail. The PRCs are also available for short class visits (around 5 minutes) to promote their services--If you are interested, let us know (grayjl@umn.edu or katep@umn.edu) and we can schedule.

This program was developed in partnership with the University Libraries, MCAE: Multicultural Center for Academic Excellence and the SMART Learning Commons.

Sharon Weiner, the recently appointed W. Wayne Booker Endowed Chair in Information Literacy for Purdue Libraries, is the vice president of the National Forum on Information Literacy. Here, Weiner answers questions about her position and the importance of information literacy beyond the basic Google search....

Q: What can a reference librarian do that I can't do on Google?

A: They know about more sophisticated strategies to find information and more efficient ways to find information than Google and teach you. They can teach you to evaluate those sources you find on Google and get better, more accurate results.

Elinor Ostrom, winner of the Nobel Prize for economics co-edited a book called, Understanding knowledge as a commons : from theory to practice. This book contains a chapter written by our own Library Director, Wendy Pradt Lougee, "Scholarly Communication & Libraries Unbound: The Opportunity of the Commons."

NATIONAL INFORMATION LITERACY AWARENESS MONTH, 2009
- - - - - - -
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION

Every day, we are inundated with vast amounts of information. A 24-hour news cycle and thousands of global television and radio networks, coupled with an immense array of online resources, have challenged our long-held perceptions of information management. Rather than merely possessing data, we must also learn the skills necessary to acquire, collate, and evaluate information for any situation. This new type of literacy also requires competency with communication
technologies, including computers and mobile devices that can help in our day-to-day decisionmaking. National Information Literacy Awareness Month highlights the need for all Americans to be adept in the skills necessary to effectively navigate the Information Age.

Though we may know how to find the information we need, we must also know how to evaluate it. Over the past decade, we have seen a crisis of authenticity emerge. We now live in a world where anyone can publish an opinion or perspective, whether true or not, and have that opinion amplified within the information marketplace. At the same time, Americans have unprecedented access to the diverse and independent sources of information, as well as institutions such as libraries and universities, that can help separate truth from fiction and signal from noise.

Our Nation's educators and institutions of learning must be aware of -- and adjust to -- these new realities. In addition to the basic skills of reading, writing, and arithmetic, it is equally important that our students are given the tools required to take advantage of the information available to them. The ability to seek, find, and decipher information can be applied to countless life decisions, whether financial, medical, educational, or technical.

This month, we dedicate ourselves to increasing information literacy awareness so that all citizens understand its vital importance. An informed and educated citizenry is essential to the functioning of our modern democratic society, and I encourage educational and community institutions across the country to help Americans find and evaluate the information they seek, in all its forms.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim October 2009 as National Information Literacy Awareness Month. I call upon the people of the United States to recognize the important role information plays in our daily lives, and appreciate the need for a greater understanding of its impact.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this first day of October, in the year of our Lord two thousand nine, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-fourth.

Zotero: Basics
Zotero is a *free* Firefox extension that helps you collect citations and website information from within your Firefox browser. We'll show you how to install Zotero and use it to capture citations, organize your research, and format bibliographies and in-text citations.
Time: Wednesday, 9/23/2009 - 1:30pm - 2:30pm
Location: Walter Library 310

Creating Posters Using PowerPoint
Getting ready to do a poster at an upcoming conference? Learn pointers about using PowerPoint to create the poster as one giant slide, and send it to a large-scale printer.
Time: Monday, 09/28/2009 - 1:30pm - 2:15pm
Location: 310 Walter Library
Formatting Your Dissertation or Thesis in *Word 2007*
Focus on your research instead of your formatting! In this workshop, you'll learn how to use Microsoft Word features effectively and efficiently. We'll cover inserting images and charts, getting your page numbers in the right place, generating tables of contents and figures; and more. Please note that this workshop covers the basic formatting you'll need to comply with Graduate School guidelines. For advanced formatting questions, please consult the Writing Center. Participants should have basic experience using MS Word. Note this version of the workshop specifically uses Office 2007; an instruction manual is available for Word 2003. We will be using a template and not be working with individual dissertations. Class materials can be found on the Moodle page, at: https://moodle.umn.edu/course/view.php?id=5102
Time: Monday, 10/05/2009 - 1:30pm - 3:30pm
Location: 310 Walter Library

Introduction to Citation Managers
Learn why you should use a citation manager. This workshop will look at 3 common citation managers, RefWorks, EndNote and Zotero. Their features will be compared so you can decide which citation manager best meets your needs.
Time: Tuesday, 10/06/2009 - 11:15am - 12:15pm
Location: 310 Walter Library

Getting Published: How to Publish Your Science Research Article
This workshop, intended for graduate students and newer faculty in the sciences, will help you identify appropriate journals to which to submit your article and discuss how to manage your rights when signing a contract with a publisher. Join your colleagues to share your ideas and discuss the issues you face as an emerging academic author.
Time: Monday, 10/19/2009 - 1:30pm - 2:30pm
Location: 310 Walter Library

Google for Researchers
With Google, you already search the web, share photos/movies/music, map directions and discover new things...but there are some tools you may have missed. This web search engine is on a mission to "organize the world's information and make it universally accessible." So let's explore the new tools and technology that pair Google-efficient tools with library-quality results to weave together a rich information web that goes beyond just the World Wide Web. We'll look at tools such as, Google Docs, RSS Reader, Google Scholar, and iGoogle Research Gadgets that will help you access, evaluate, and share information in an easy collaborative environment.
Time: Thursday, 10/22/2009 - 10:00am - 11:00am
Location: 310 Walter Library

Grant Funding for Graduate Students
Find out more about funding opportunities available to graduate students. Learn how to use IRIS, SPIN, and Community of Science and the Foundation Directory to search for grant opportunities. Setting up e-mail updates on specific subjects will also be covered, as well as how to find internal U of M funding sources. Resources for the course are listed on the Web site of the Office of the VP for Research, http://www.collaborate.umn.edu/explore/searching.html.
Time: Wednesday, 11/04/2009 - 3:00pm - 4:15pm
Location: 310 Walter Library

I included this information in a post last week but it was so important that I have decided to include it in its own post...

Peer Research Consultants (Pilot) Program **NEW**
The University Libraries, Multicultural Center for Academic Excellence (MCAE), and SMART Learning Commons have come together to pilot a program of providing peer tutors for students on library and academic research--specifically First Year Writing students. PRCs have completed WRIT 1301 and will receive extensive training in library research, information literacy, tutoring and cultural competencies. We have hired three students for Fall and they will be available for one-on-one appointments and drop-ins in early October at the SMART Learning Commons and MCAE. I will send more information about times and locations soon. PRC can help students with:
--Selecting and narrowing a topic
--Finding Books and articles
--Finding scholarly articles
--Evaluating sources
--Basic citation creation

I am now one of the librarians behind the first floor reference desk at Wilson Library. My shift is from 11 to 12:30 on Fridays, so please stop by and say hello if you are in the area. I will be the librarian slighly overwhelmed by all the questions...

A group I am chairing within the Libraries, the Information Literacy Collaborative, is pleased to announce that we will be working with a group from this year's cohort of the President's Emerging Leader's (PEL) program (http://www1.umn.edu/ohr/pel/index.html).

As part of the PEL program, participants work on a project designed to address essential strategic questions facing the University. Project proposals are submitted from across the University, and our project, "Teaching 21st Century Literacies Through the University Libraries to Support the Undergraduate Experience" was selected.

Here is some background

Are our students prepared to live and work as digital citizens in the Knowledge Age? Are our students prepared to be lifelong learners? There is a set of skills that cross disciplines and departments on campus, often referred to as 21st century literacies. It includes:
• Information literacy (ability to find, evaluate, organize and use information to inform and solve problems)
• Media literacy (ability to question, analyze, interpret, evaluate, and create media messages)
• Visual literacy (ability to understand and produce visual messages)
• Digital literacy (ability to use digital technology, communications tools or networks to locate, evaluate use and create information)
• Statistical literacy (ability to analyze and understand data to produce meaningful information)
These skills are vital to academic and professional success. They help students adapt and thrive in the changing landscape of information, media and technology on the road of lifelong learning. They need to be taught and reinforced throughout a student's life at the University both within and outside of the classroom.

"The American Library Association mourns the loss of the great legislator, Edward M. Kennedy. Senator Kennedy was a strong proponent of libraries and worked tirelessly with our nation's librarians to make sure everyone in this country could get access to quality library services, no matter what type of library or where they were located."http://www.wo.ala.org/districtdispatch/?p=3552

"The new course will undergo a pilot phase during the Fall and is expected to be fully up and going by the Spring semester, when it will be taken by an estimated 5,000 to 6,000 freshmen.

The library's project to promote information literacy also includes the opening of a new research lab in the Manuel T. Pacheco Integrated Learning Center, where any student may come in to request advice or assistance for their research.

The online course is intended to prepare students for the challenges that research often poses. It will work in tandem with English composition classes to allow students the opportunity to apply their developed research skills to the paper writing process, said Michael Brewer, team leader of undergraduate services."

As I try to figure out at time when I can get to the public library to return a very overdue book I wanted to post this relatively good story about libraries in the "troubled economic times." Something about Matt Lauer talking about Library is strange...

I have to say this quote might have to be posted somewhere..."forget the trendy restaurants and nightclubs, these days it seems the Library is the real place to be..."

Bamboo is a multi-institutional, interdisciplinary, and inter-organizational effort that brings together researchers in arts and humanities, computer scientists, information scientists, librarians, and campus information technologists to tackle the question:

How can we advance arts and humanities research through the development of shared technology services?

In conjunction with the celebration of the Award of Excellence yesterday there is also a story about the Libraries from the University news entitled, "A big kudos for University Libraries: Getting 'in the flow of the user' brings national award".
Read it at:http://www1.umn.edu/news/features/2009/UR_CONTENT_107684.html

Please remind your students that librarians are available 24/7 to help with any research questions from starting to find information on a topic, to finding a peer reviewed article, getting the full text, and much more.

"The seventh edition also introduces simplified guidelines for citing works on the Web. For example, the MLA no longer recommends the inclusion of URLs in the works-cited-list entries for Web publications. MLA guidelines now call for the inclusion of both volume and issue numbers in listings for journal articles in the list of works cited."

Here is a story about the public schools in Portland, Oregon and the lack of certified librarians.

"In a society where most kids would rather consult Wikipedia than the World Book Encyclopedia, they say every student needs to learn how to use library resources and evaluate online information....

Studies show...
"A 2008 report on New York elementary schools concluded that students who work with certified librarians had higher achievement on standardized tests than those who didn't. A survey of Wisconsin school libraries found that high school students with access to librarians in their schools scored 10 to 20 percent higher on the ACT. Studies in 19 states have supported a similar connection.

No $$$:
"In 1999-2000, library expenditures nationwide were about $19 a student. A 2007 survey reported it had dropped to about $11 a student."

This may be a glimpse of future publishing trends....beginning in the sciences...

"Anyone submitting to a section of the journal RNA Biology will, in the future, be required to also submit a Wikipedia page that summarizes the work. The journal will then peer review the page before publishing it in Wikipedia."

"The RNA wiki is a subset of a broader project, the WikiProject Molecular and Cellular Biology, which has marshalled hundreds of scientists to improve the content of biology articles in Wikipedia."

Although I have only been here at the University of Minnesota for three months in my new position of Information Literacy Librarian I bring experience from many other academic institutions. I have worked at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (where I got my library degree), California State University, Long Beach, St. Cloud State University and Capella University (all online).

I am the liaison librarian to Writing Studies which means I am here to help you with any question you have about the library, any books you would like the library to purchase and much more. I enjoyed meeting many of you during Orientation and I look forward to meeting more. Please contact me with any questions at katepumn.edu or 612-626-3746 or Walter Library 239.